


The Ruins' Keeper

by Xx_SakuraKitster_xX



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Death, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, I vow to make you sad, I'm good at angst, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sans - Freeform, Slow Burn, So much angst, characters added as they appear or mentioned, he's a confused boi, like who is this chick, multiple chapters!, where'd she come from
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-03 06:32:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16320968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xx_SakuraKitster_xX/pseuds/Xx_SakuraKitster_xX
Summary: The ruins have become broken and barren.A human hasn't fallen in years.And the keeper of the ruins has grown old and fragile.The ruins can't be kept by the poor old woman anymore, she's far to old.But then a human falls...And a new keeper rises to bring the ruins back to their former gloryThey oath to take care of every fallen child.





	1. Eplouge

**Author's Note:**

> My second attempt at an undertale story! Don't judge me to harshly. Please.
> 
> I'm sorry about discontinuing the last one.

'It's been so long since a human has fallen.' thinks the old woman as she stares at the greying fur on her frayed, wrinkled hands.

Her tired amber eyes glare at the crumbling pillars and decaying walls with patches of Earth showing through.

The glare, though full of loathing, holds no real malice

These walls….

These walls were once admired.

But not anymore.

The woman continues to walk forward, determined to reach her destination depite her creaking bones and aching joints.

Her eyes examine the other monsters she occasionally passes, thoughts slightly envious of their youth.

They move with now limits or boundaries, carfree and joyful as though they'll stay young forever.

'ah.' she chuckles within her lonely mind

'if only youth were forever. But alas, father time stops for no one'

It's getting darker, she notices, meaning that dusk is just over the metaphorical horizon. She must hurry, or else she may not find her way back home.

She's been here for years and seen many generations go by. You'd think she'd know her way like the back of her hand by now.

Perhaps at one point in time, but her memory has lately been failing her.

Her feet finally shift from concrete flooring to cracked, dry earth, caked with an occasional decaying plant.

Through the crumbled archway,

Down the dark path,

Towards the single ray of dwindling light over a small sea of flowers.

Despite the aged cavern, these flowers have stayed young and radiant, shining with a steady flow of magic.

The woman smiles sadly before speaking

"Still keeping those flowers beautiful and bouncy for me, aren't you, my child?"

There's no response, but the woman laughs anyway

"Ah! You know I would, but unfortunately my body has been rather achy. I cannot come as often as I'd like to. I'd not come at all, I know no human will fall, but then I'd leave you all alone all the time! I could never do that to you"

There's still no answer

"Yes, yes. I love you too, Chara. I must leave now, before my knees give out on me. Until next time, my child."

The woman leaves, footsteps echoing through the hollow room as she hobbles away.

A single yellow flowers watches from the corner until daylight finally diminishes, leaving behind a cold, empty room, before burrowing into the earth

The flowers below the light close their petals for the night,

And the quiet sobbing of a lost child is heard from everywhere around the empty room.


	2. Chapter 1--Down the hatch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you fall down a hole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story is going nicely! As chapters keep coming, it'll be updated more often, as I'm trying to write at least two chapters before I release one. So no particular day for updates. They just come as they're done.

You stare at the hole that sits in front of you, contemplating how long a fall it would be, it's gaping maw open with teeth if jagged rocks.

No, you're not suicidal.

You're just curious.

How did you get here, again?

Well,

People around the town always talk about the disappearances, and you being you, decided it would be a good idea to investigate.

No one else would. Not even the damn authorities.

What a sad, pathetic world.

So, being the stubborn, adventurous girl with a strong since of justice you are, you hiked up the mountain in search of anything that could be a clue.

And at first, you found nothing. You could see the city from almost every point on the mountain, so it would be difficult to get lost.

The animals weren't aggressive and kept mostly to themselves, so no one could have gotten eaten. You don't think.

You started thinking that the whole disappearance fiasco was a sham, until you--quite literally-- stumbled upon a huge crater in the ground.

You caught yourself before you fell in, thankfully.

In conclusion; disappearing children were indeed NOT a sham. They just….fell in the hole. A deep, dark, pit of moldy smells, decomposing plants and who knows what else.

Coming back to the present, you find yourself dropping a stone down the hole.

It's falling.

It's falling.

….still falling.

…..

'plunk'!

Damn, that's pretty deep.

You feel sorry for all those poor kids. Those unlucky kids who fell down into the unknown, never to be seen again.

You wish there was something you could do.

Alas, this is a problem far to large for you alone.

You turn to leave, but conveniently, your foot slips.

You hit the ground hard on your stomach and grip the thin vines around you, your bottom half dangling over the un-ending circle of darkness.

The air around your legs is cold and damp. The gross kind that sticks to your skin like grime.

Your eyes widen when you hear the vines make popping noises. They snap and break, and your body slowly decends lower and lower with each lost handhold.

Your stomach hurts from being bent over the edge of the jagged rocks, and your hands sting from the friction against the vines.

You reach one hand to grab more vines, but you're too late, as the one thing keeping up snaps with a horrifying 'crack', and you're falling,

falling,

falling.

Deeper. Further. Darker.

An unseen wind whips your hair in your face, all you hear is the rush of air as you fall, your eyes are blurred with tears, and your stomach dropped.

The last thing you see is the shrinking circle of sky and clouds, before your back hits hard ground and your vision turns black.

====================================

Slowly, your vision fades back into focus as you begin to regain consciousness.

You're in what looks to be a dark cave of sorts. The only source of light is from the hole you fell through, and it only fully aluminates the patch of flowers you currently lie upon.

The rest of the room is lit by the left over glow from the single ray of sun beaming down on you.

The flowers underneath you, you notice, are as golden as the sun. They're radiant, and almost seem to glow due to the contrast of the sun beam and darkness of the rest of the room.

Little dust particles float In the light, giving the place an ethereal sort of beauty.

It's quiet, but not uncomfortably so, with the only noise being the dripping from the stalactites and the sounds of small insects scattering about.

You stand up on shaky legs, trying not to fall over, before moving your body outside the golden rays.

You cant see anything.

Why is it so dark if there's sun light coming through?

It seems it only shines on those unnaturally golden blooms.

Your hands find their way to your pockets, feeling for your phone.

You find it in your back pocket, unbroken.

Thank God you landed on your face.

You turn on the flasight and point the light at a wall of rock.

The dark grey rocks are large and pointy. They're damp, and vines grow down from the surface until they reach the floor you stand on.

Every wall, wherever you point your small light, is covered.

Oh, look,

A hallway.

Yay!

 

You shuffle through it without much thought, knowing there isn't much else you can do.

The hallway --which is more of a hole in the wall, actually-- gets narrower as you go through, and it opens back up again into a room to your left.

This room is smaller than the previous one, and just as dark. There's a ray of sun, just like in the first room, seeping through a few cracks In the ceiling above a small patch of grass.

You walk over the grass, towards the arch that leads to yet another room. 

You find a large, well lit room, this time. The purple brick is cracked and ivy grows up the walls and onto the ceiling.

It smells of mold.

Two sets of stairs on either side of the room circle around a pile of dead, red leaves, leading to another floor.

But the thing that really stands out…

Is the large goat woman who stands on the second floor, staring down at you with eyes as full of surprise as your own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying my story! This is still kind of a practice story, but it's more...planned, then the last one, so. Yay!


	3. Chapter 2-- Lady of the Ruins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goat mum!

The woman places a hand on her chest, mouth gaped open in surprise.

"You…you're a human.." that wasn't a question. She was making a statment

She starts decending the stairs, and you're too frozen to move until she stands right in front of you.

She's at least two heads taller than you are, and has a large stature, but somehow that doesn't make her at all imposing.

Slowly, as though you were a skittish animal, she kneels in front of you so she can look you in the eye,

Shes older, you confirm as you take in her soft features

She has wrinkles and grey hairs peppered throughout her milk colored fur. Soft, amber eyes that are sunken with age and small glasses sit upon her snout

Her hands are shaky as she lifts them, and some of her joints are visible through the fur of her hand.

Her kind smile raidiates the warmth and safety of a mother.

"My, it's been so long since I've seen one of your kind. Are you injured from the fall?" She asks, eyes scanning you for injury

"No ma'am. At least, I don't think so" you respond, carefully

"Wonderful, but I would still like to check. Come, I will take you to my home. I'll check you for wounds, then you can eat and rest."

She rises back to her feet and clasps her hands together elegantly, smiling in delight.

You, however, have your suspicions.

You decide to voice them,

"But…" You hesitate trying not to sound rude to the seemingly kind woman, ".. we're strangers, and I don't know where I am. I don't know if you're being legitimately kind, or if it's just a facade. How can I trust you? How can you trust me?"

She sighs.

"I understand your concerns. And it's very wise of you to think that way. It's a nice change, as the children who had fallen were insanely trusting."

Her eyes are downcast, full of reminiscance from a past only she knows.

"And you're right, we have no reason to trust each other. At least, not yet, and it is a great risk to do so. However, I think it's best to try,"

You cross your arms and look at your feet, thinking over your strange situation.

So, first your curiousity drives you up a mountain, which leads to you discovering a giant hole.

You end up sliding down said hole and come out mostly uninjured, somehow.

You walk through the darkness, and then find an old goat lady who is kinder than anyone you'd ever met on the surface.

Overall, you have no idea where you are, where you can stay over night, where to get food and water, or how the hell to get back home.

Do you really have a choice?

"Alright, ma'am. I'll come with you"

She smiles, and gently takes your hands in her larger ones, leading you up the stairs as though you were a fragile doll.

"Please, call me Toriel! It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. May I have your name?"

"Y/n."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Y/n." She smiles

You smile back "you, too."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

You and Toriel spend a few hours navigating through the ruins.

They were rather small, really, but Toriel wanted to give you a tour, with details on the history, which extended the time of your exploration.

It was rather boring, but you let her talk. She seemed so happy to talk about it with someone.

How long was she alone?

The ruins, you notice, are in major disrepair.

The walls are cracked and moldy, with rouge vines crawling up the walls and consuming them like a parasite. 

Most of the pillars are broken in half, eaten through with decay.

The floor has holes in it, plants taking over the empty space.

You have to help toriel stumble through, so she doesn't fall and hurt herself.

Soon enough, you arrive at Tori's house. It in itself seems to be crumbling just a little, though not as bad as the rest of the place.

"I'm going to go inside and prepare some food," she says, "I'm sure you're hungry. Come inside whenever you're ready."

She goes inside the home, leaving the door open a crack for you.

You gaze up at the dying tree in the center of the front yard, before walking inside with your new care-taker.

You hear shuffling towards your left, so you walk through the archway. There's a cute little living room inside, and another archway by the fireplace.

The shuffling is coming from that archery, so you walk through the living room to get to it

There, you see toriel stirring a bowl with a whisk. 

"Oh, toriel, do you need help?" You ask,

"Huh? Oh! No, no, my child. I've got it, thank you, though. I'd like you to go take a bath, and go take a rest. The bathroom is back through the foyer and down the other hallway, all the way at the end. When you finish, I'll show you your room."

Despite the feeling you should insist on helping, you obey, using her directions to find the bathroom.

You were tempted to look inside the other rooms on the way, but realize how rude that would be, and let it be.

You think of your day as you lower yourself into the warm water of the large tub.

What a day, you think.

What a day.


	4. Chapter 3--The humans new clothes!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is late. I got lazy and forgot ;-;

Your bones pop as you stretch the sleep from your body.

Prior to your long sleep, you'd gone right to bed after your bath, following toriels motherly directions.

She's told you to use her bed, since the one in the child's room was to small for you.

Your feet would have hung off.

At first, you'd protested. She was already so kind, you didn't want to take her bed from her!

But she'd insisted, telling you it was actually morning down in the underground, so you have no need to worry for her.

You did, though.

But man, that was the best sleep you'd had in ages.

Standing onto the soft rug next to the bed, you rub your eyes as you attempt to actually wake up.

Once satisfied, you leave the room and walk down the hallway, finding toriel sitting comfortably in her chair, sewing something.

"Ah, my dear, you've awoken! There's pie in the kitchen, if you want any."

 _Boy do I_ , you think as you get yourself some of that pie.

When you come back in, she's pulled a chair from the kitchen table to sit in front of her recliner.

"Come, sit. Since your own clothes are in rather bad condition, I've been fixing some of my old robes for you"

You sit down in front of her and take a bit if the food

Oh my God,

Why is everything here so amazing and comforting???? What is this sorcery??????

"Um... No offence, but I'm really small compared to you. I don't know if I can fit"

She grins, her face crinkling a little at the edges from the action

"None taken! Most monsters are large, but we don't start that way. These are very old clothes of mine, from my younger teen years. I just need to repair them a little."

"…a teenage monster is about the same size a grown human??"

You ask, astonished.

"Not all of us. Think of the froggits we passed on the way here. Larger monsters tend to be boss monsters, with few exceptions. There's a book on the shelf, if you'd like to know more. I'm getting old, so my memory tends to fail me sometimes. I don't wish to give you false information."

You nod and focus on finishing your pie.

The conversation has ended and has been replaced by a comfortable, domestic silence.

Once you've finished, she speaks again.

"There! All done. I'll do more later, but this should be enough for now. Go on and Change. I'll clean your clothes later, and then mend them for you."

Standing up, you set your plate on the floor and take the bundle of fabrics, examining them as you walk to the bathroom.

Once inside, you shut the door and strip off your dirty, tattered clothing and slip on the fresh ones toriel was kind enough to fix.

The first thing you notice is how comfortable it is. The inside lining is soft and warm, making you feel as though you're wearing a blanket.

You also notice, that despite toriels attempt to shrink the clothes, they're still a little big.

You turn to the mirror.

You were given what seems to be a tunic dress with long flowing sleeves. It's a rich, royal purple with a strange symbol taking up the center.

Underneath, you were given some black tights, which were also a little big, but they fit enough to stay up.

She also gave you some boots, which fit you almost perfectly. They're definitely a little old and worn, but better than nothing. You take the boots off and pick them up.

Doing a little twirl, you exit the bathroom and scurry down the long hallway and back to the living area where toriel is waiting patiently.

"Oh, my dear! I knew those would look just fantastic on you!" Toriel gushes happily, standing

"They're a little big, but a few washes should shrink it to proper size"

Her smile turns a little melancholy as she kneels in front of you

"It's been so long since I've had anyone new to talk to face to face. Anyone to care for."

Her sunken eyes start to glimmer and shine with unshed tears as she pulls you into her arms, hugging you with such sadness and care so fast it almost gave you whiplash,

You hug the old woman back immidiatly.

"I'll make you happy here for as long as I can, I promise." Her voice is quaky and you can feel tears wetting your shoulder.

You break into tears yourself once hearing her broken sob,

" _Thank you for letting me care for you_ …."


End file.
